Crisis Cuisine: Long-Term Food Storage

Having access to long-term food stores can definitely increase your chances for survival in even the most serious crisis situations. But storing that much food is not without its complications, and can also become very expensive. Figuring out what to store and how to store it can often be the most difficult part of the entire process. Let’s take a look at the basics of long-term food security, with specific emphasis on tips, ideas, and suggestions to help you start making your preparations, while also saving some serious money.

Against All Odds: Improvised Survival Gear

In every corner of the world that I’ve explored, I’ve found garbage or junk of some sort. Even in places I was sure were considered “pristine wilderness,” there was trash. Finding junk worthy of survival is a practice all its own, but finding it is just the beginning. At the same time, common everyday items can often be turned into survival gear by using a little ingenuity.

Jack of All Trades: SPARtool Multipurpose Survival Tool

Purpose-built or task-specific tools are just that: designed for a specific task and purpose. They usually work exceptionally well for that specific task, and marginally well, poorly or are downright dangerous when used outside of the design scope.

Water Storage Essentials: What To Do Before the Tap Runs Dry

During a disaster, one of the most significant problems you’re likely to face is the lack of clean drinking water. People living in highly congested urban areas are especially vulnerable, since municipal water supplies can be contaminated or may stop flowing altogether.

Packing for the Apocalypse: Realistic Planning for Defensive Firearms

This is written for apocalyptic times, when open combat might be present in our country. It could happen as a result of an attack on our Constitution by an out-of-control president, a nuclear event, pandemic, geothermal event, or EMP. Regardless, things will get unfriendly quickly.

Off-Grid Comms: Text and GPS via Smartphone with goTenna

Smartphones can now be found just about everywhere on the planet. It’s no exaggeration to say that these incredible devices have changed everything, especially how we communicate. As device functionality and cell service reliability have increased, so has our dependence on this technology. But what happens when there’s no service?

Survival Savvy: Gearing Up for the Next Level

People who prepare usually tend to focus on the survival basics: security/self-defense, water, food, first aid, sanitation/hygiene, knowing when to get out and when to stay put. This represents a great start, and if that’s all you do, you’ll still be far better off than the majority of the population.

Against All Odds: Garmin Fenix 3 ABC/GPS Watch

For some time, I have either had to put up with a watch that ran slow, or use or make watch bands that separate the watch from my wrist. But with the invention of ABC watches (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass), I started taking a more serious look at digital watches. I didn’t like the watch function being digital any more than I ever had, but the other functionality definitely made up for it.

Help From Above: Satellite Emergency Beacons

There are still vast areas, even along interstate highways and in population centers, where cell signal is absent. If you have an emergency in those places, there is no longer a pay phone on the corner, and you’ll find yourself back at the turn of the 20th century in terms of calling for help.

Mad Skillz: Eight Survival Skills Everyone Should Know

Developing skills is actually a two-part process—learning the “how-to” part from a book or other resource, and then the hands-on part, where you do it yourself, get it right, and then practice the skill often. Once you’ve learned one particular skill, move on to the next.